Method of making ingots.



J E. YORK.

METHOD OF MAKING INGOIS.

APPLICATION FILED MR m. 19H

Patented Nov. 28, 1916.

INVENTOR 1 I ll??? WWW/4V? By Altmweyx, 13 lwvk A E WITNESSES: v

. citizen of the United States,"'residing in the 4 borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, city tain new and. 'useful Improvements ames E. YORK, or NEW YORK, N. r.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

METHOD OF MAKING INGOTS.

Patented Nov. 28, 1916.

Application filed March 21, 1913. Serial No 755,931.

To all w'hdm it may concern Be it known that 1, JAMES E. I YORK, a

and State of New York, have-invented cer- Methods of Making Ingots, of which the ingots, as at present manufactured, often- 1 taking place.

' or hollow spaces, usually running longitudinally of the ingot, and known aspipes,

following is aspecification.

This invention relates to methods of mak-,

ing ingots and aims to ments therein. Shapes or products produced from metal provide, improvecontain latent defects, which it is practically impossible to detect by any practical means. This is particularly truein' the case of rolled steel rails. The defects. in the shapes or rails are mainly due to defects which arise in the manufacture of the ingot from which the shapes or rails are formed and Which remain in the ingot. Whenpoured into the ingot mold, the molten metal cools more rapidly at the bottom and sides than it does at the center, consequently upon solidifying the metal shrinks or contracts from the center, where the metal is most fluid, toward the sides and bottom, where the solidification 1s sides and bottom of the ingot are ordinarily homogeneous and sound, while the center portion of the ingot at the upper end thereof contains a greater or less number of cavities which are due to this shrinking away-of the metal from the center portion or core of the ingot. Furthermore, afterthe pouring has been'completed, the metal of the ingot begins to solidify on thetop, thus forming a solid coating over the center portion or core where the defects are being developed, and covering them from view.-

When'the ingot has been formed and is carried to the rolling mill or other forming device, the pipes 'or cavities in the centerportion or core of the ingot are still con-,

tained therein; The operation of the rolls or other forming devices upon the ingots does not serve to remove 'or-remedy the pipes in the ingot, particularly if there are any oxids formed on the walls of the cavity, or other substances having the same effect, as there almost invariably are, and the defects due to the presence of the pipe-- are The result of this is that-the incorporated in theshapes or articles prosure of the rolls orother forming devices upon the ingotin drawing out lorattenuatmg the ingot, while it may eventually bring the walls of the pipes or cavities together,

has the effect 'of lengthening the pipes or cavities and spreading them throughout a, greater length of the formed article or shape, rather than closing the pipes, If the ingot is reheated after being allowed to solidify the reheating will in many cases not be sufiicient to bring the metal in the vicinity though the heat be sufficient for welding this will not take place owing to the presence of the oxids on the walls of the cavity, and

other matter hereinafter more fully referredto," which prevent the formation of a weld.

.55 duced by the forming operationi The p'res- 'of the cavity to a welding heat, and even Thedefects in the shapes or products are in fact rendered more imperceptible if anything by rolling than in the ingot. Furthermore, the center portion or core of the ingot is of a different composition from the metal forming the other parts'of the ingot. It is here that the substances or compounds dis solved or suspended in the metal for, the 1 most part segregate or collect, which substances or compounds are generally referred to as segregation. It is the zone of the im-.

purities. It is here, for instance, in the case of steel, where the greater amount of carbon and other substances, as for lnstance, manganese, silicon, sulfur and phosphorus are contained. The upper center, portion or core of the ingot, where the pipes occur, is

therefore of different composition andv has diiferent qualities-from the metal constituting-the other portions of the ingot. It is also in this center portion of theupper' end of the ingot where-the greater quantity of occluded gases and inclosures, such as minute quantities of slag, .and oxids which have not been-reducedin the refining. processes, are found. It has been a problem for many years in'the metal industry and more especially injthe .steel industry to overcome these defects occurring in the ingot, and remaining in the shapes or articlesmanufa'ctured therefrom. Various methods of overcoming these defects have been heretofore tried and practised. The most co mmon and.

approved method has been to cut ofl or crop a portion of the upper part of the ingot and use the lowerpart. Thisresults diagrammatically the process of solidifica- I in considerable loss and in most cases an ex-' tion or cooling which takes place upon-the cessivey reduction of tonnage production, interior ofthe'ingot,Iandjthe;formatlon of ig-which is contrary to the predom natlng ann,

. of .present-daysteel' manufacturers: a s e l-i i -v" V Q lng 'ofcarryingoutthe invention..fF-igj. 4 illus- 1 .ithe above-mentioned defectsin ingotshave tratesanother method of, carrying out the been heretofore proposed It has beenfpro"- inyentiom .posed-jto remedy these defects by; slow pou'r- When metal is pouredlinto an-ingotmold p 75 the addition of metal alloys; by cbmpresfrom the sides and bottom than it does from ing of the; molten metal in the molds;- by -the metalfcool's'andsolidifies more'rapidly sion; of the. ingot while fluid the mold; the'center, as is indicated thelines a, a, a.

and by means of a sinking head, which is After the curing, has been completed-,and

' pouring of themetal into the moldis obdo not serve to satisfactorily render the de- "of the mold, which cavities are known as of the ingot and discarded. Compression closures. The metal of this center portion Ja funnel-shaped extension connected with as the coo ing. and solidifying; progresses, the mold for v the purpose of supplying ad-, the top 7) of the mass of metal solidifies. Durditional molten metal to make up for "ing this solidification, the metal shrinks or shrinkage occurring in the ingot. "Slow contracts from the center of the ingot, where i the metal is molten, toward the exteriorjectionable because it operates to retard proof the mold, thus producing cavities so in the' duction. Metal alloys are expensive and core or center portion C of the upper part sired effects. Use of a sinking head involves .pipes. This'core 'or center portion 031130 the use ofa heating material, for keeping "contains the greatest proportion of those subthe head of the ingot molten, and leaves stances or compoundseontained in the metal a mass of metal to be out 01f from the top which constitute the segregation and inof the ingotis impracticable for the reason or core is therefore of a different composithat large and expensive apparatus is retionfrom the metal of the other parts of the quired and because of the length of time iningot 1 and consequently is of a different volved. The; foregoing and many other quality, being inferior andconstituting an 95 methods have'been tried and found to .be imperfection in the ingot and the shapes impracticable or unsatisfactory on account or articles formed therefrom.

of the considerable, addition to the cost of In carrying out the present invention a the ingot and tothe considerable reduction piece'or plug of suitable material is inserted of output involved. It has also been prointo the upper end of the ingot while its posed to fill in the cavities formed in the interior ismobile, z. e. moltenor pasty, and cores of" ingots by pourin molten metal-into the core or zone wherein thecavities therein. This is unsuccess however, for or pipes occur, to fill the cavities or the reason that it is necessary that there pipes and to displace the metal in the should be an equalization of the tempera- .center'portion or'core of the ingot, the dis- 105 tures of the molten metal and of the metal placed, metal being forced upwardly so as of the ingot at a pasty or fluid consistency to further fill the cavity or cavities, the disin order for welding or fusion to take place, placement is preferably carried further so and the mass of the molten metal is usuallyas to cause the metal to ooze or be forced so small compared with that of the ingot out at the .top of the ingot around the sides that before, the equalization takes place the of'the plug or around theopening formed two masses of metal are at too low a tem-. by the insertion of the-plug. In the case of perature for the union to take place.

. closures found in the cores or center portions of thepresent ingots.

such necessity or want.

steel the plug is preferably made of steel From the foregoing it will be seen that a having approximately the same composition great necessity exists for a simple and reas the steel from which the ingot is to be 5 liable method for producing ingots that are formed. When the piece or plug of metal solid throughout, which may be formed into is inserted in the ingot either a weld-or a shapes or articles which will be thoroughly fusion will be produced owing to the fact sound and which will be comparatively free that the temperature of the metal upon the from the defect growing out of the pipes, interior'of the ingot will raise the temperasegregated matter and concentration of inture of the plug to either a fluid or a pasty condition and tothe fact that at a certain The presentstage of the cooling the metal of the ingot invention has been designed to and meets itself will come to a similar temperature and condition. -Under these circumstances 5 The invention will be more conveniently a perfect weld or fusion will be produced. explained by referring to the accompanying Oxidation cannot take place in the ingot drawings. so as interfere with the weld, inasmuch as o In said drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are a' the plug is inserted while the metal of the top and a slde view of an ingot illustrating ingot is either fluid or pasty. The plugs 13o themselves can be kept free from oxidation or be freed of oxids before being used.

The plug or plugs may be inserted at any stage of solidification of the metal at the top of the ingot, but it is prefer'redto insert the plug When the metal at the top of the ingot is in a fluid or'p'asty condition and shortly after the casting has been ,com-

pleted. Th'e'plug can be heated to a greater or lessftemperature according to the tem-' perature of the metal'of the ingot. Theplug is not jrequiredjto have any particular degree of solidity, so long as it possesses suflicient solidity to enable it to be forced or to sink into the metal of the ingot to fill .the cavities therein, and to act further to displace, the fFSegregation. and inclosures if desired. Furthermore; any shapes or plugs may be used. The plugs maybe sections of old rails; pieces ofscrap metal or of other fornyor maybe formed especially'for the purpose. They maybe inserted singly, .or' in; numbers; the plugs may be either simpleor composite. Furthermore, treat- 2 ment'gofl the metal, as by the addition of manganese, silicon, aluminum, titanium,f

vanadium, etc. churning, or in fact any other. treatment ,WhlCh 1s usual or deslrable, may be carried on previous to the insertion 3 of the plugs,for along with theinsertion of the plug$tThe plugs may be inserted in any mannen- They may be inserted manually dfoppingg the m' into the top of the mold, or'

any suitable-appliance may be utilized for placing them inposition and iiorcing them].

into the ingot. I'ffthere has been too much solidification 'ofthe metal at the-top of the ingot, thermit or the like may be used to h melt thesame. j

. In carrying out the invention, the plugs are preferably inserted gradually (and preferablyin elongated pieces orshapes) so that there iv ill be a. gradual and substantially continuous .oo-ziingler out flow of metal at the top of theingotf ifBy-this means the metal around the opening atfthe top of the ingot is kept molten-or in'a mobile stateand provides a fluid coluinii ofimetal, extending to he exterio-rof the ingot; fromfwhich any shrinkage or eontra'ction-in the metal of the body of thefingot'may be takenup, thus;

counteracting directly'the formation of'the cavities or pipes? .lqThe place of the extruded; metal istakenibif the metal'of'the 55. plug, which isjrendered 'fiuidor pastyby' lthe heat of the interior-of the inset. Heat may be applied 'dn- 'ring. the extrusion @tojassist in maintaini 1' the fluidityfor mobility. of the j extruded metall at'theissuing point,

The'i' ertifln of the plugs has the further advantageous 'efi'ect, that the heatof the in-..:

'terior of the ingot is utilized for doing't he useful Work of raising the inserted plugs-to a temperature at which they are brought to a fluid or pasty state,'-and the capacity of -pr'eferably" after thermal equalization has taken. place and the solidification has 'pr'oj.- gressed,'by inserting plugs'in the top of the effect is nota disadvantage in the present invention for the reason that the pipes or cavities are filled by the plugs. The insertion of the-plugs has the further advantageous efi'ect of rendering practically the entire upper end of the ingot available for use, requiring no cropping or cutting off at all, and but aminimum amount of discard at the end" of the blooms or of the rolled shapes.. Furthermore by suitably selecting or determining the character of the plugs, the character of the metal at the axis or core of the ingot may be modified so as to obtain a Wide range in the properties, and especially the physical properties, of the so metal of this part of the ingot. Moreover,

owing to the improved texture or properties With metal Which has been subjected to mechanical treatment, such as rolling, usually'possesses, plugs'of this character may [be used to advantage. This is of particular advantage in rail making, Where'the method may be used for inserting plugs of a difierent composition from the metal of the ingots, to obtain thereby a hardor soft center 101 to a rail Where desired, many experts considering a composite rail of this character to ave greater strength to'resist fracture;

The invention may further be carried out as indicated in Fig.4 o f'the drawing. A 1% plug which extends longitudinally the entire length of the ingot, may be inserted before the cooling or solidification begins or immediately thereafter and following the completion of the casting of the ingot. By

'this meansthe cooling or -solidification of the ingot is accelerated with the resulting advantages above set forth and the ingot is provided with an axis .or core of comparativelyhoniogeneous meta'LLWhich may be so chosen as to provide a ide rangegin thephysical properties of-the metal constituting,

the center or axial portionofthe ingot. The

ingot may besubj ected toafurther treatment,

ingot, as hereinbe'fore explained, for the expulsion I 01"elimination off'pipe s, (segregation, inclosureaifletew a The present method of makingingots .for 7 known as the top' cast lf yvell to the p resent process. "The top of the ingot is accessibleat all times during thyaoling or solidification of the metal and permits of the elimination of the segregation, inclosures, etc., by fluid displacement at the top of the mold. The

ingots may also be cast either-'big-end-up or big-end-down,'as may be preferred, or be in practice at any particular plant. 7

By the present process it is not so essen 'tial thatthe metal used in casting the ingot receive such thorough treatment or refining before coming to the mold as is now. re-

quired in good practice, nor are the results so unfavorable as when improperly or in sufficiently refined metal is used vat present. The inventionis adaptable to all classes of melted metalwhere solid and relatively homogeneous ingots are desired, especially where it is desired to roll the ingots.

12 A method of making ingots, comprising inserting metal in piece forminto the zone of the ingot wherein pipes occur vwhile themetal of the interior of'the ingot is mobile, and feeding the metal tocompensate for theportion which flows into the cavities-in the interior of the ingot.

i 2. A method of making ingots, comprising insertingmetal in piece form into the zone of the in ot wherein ipes and segt. regati'on occur, while. the metal of the in- .displacing'saidmetal of said zone.

terior of the ingot'is mobile, and gradually 3. A method of making ngots, comprrsing inserting metal in piece form into the zone of the ingot wherein pipes and.seg-' .regation occur, whilethe metalof the terior of the ingot is mobile, and gradually displacingthe metal in -the interior of the ingot to fill said pipes: and, to expel the portion of said metal containing the segregation to the exterior. of the ingot.

4. A method of making in ots, comprising inserting metal in piece orm intothe extruded metalat the issuing pointto main tain its mobility.

5. A method of and inserting metal 1nv piece form. into the zone of the ingot whereinv pipes occurs while the metal in the interior of the ingot is mobile. v

6. A method of making ingots, comprising inserting materials for chemically treating making ingots compris ing-inserting materials for thermally treat- 5 ingthe'metal into the interior of the ingot the metal into the interior of-the ingot and inserting metal in piece form into the zone of the, ingot whereinpipes occur While I metal in the interior ofthe ifig t is 1110- the bile y l 1 i A 7. A methodof making iIIgOtS, jQmQI'iSv ing inserting metal in piece form into the zone of the ingot"'wh'erein pipes occur while the ingot contains sufficient heatv to melt the inserted metal to allow it to flow to fill up the cavitiesin the ingotjand 'con--' tinuing. the feeding, of'fthe metal until then interior offthe ingot is completely filled.

8.-'A method of making ingots'jcomprising inserting metal in 'piece form into thezone of the ingot wherein pipes occur while the center portion of the top surface is still in a'fluid'or plastic'condition and maintaining a fluid or plastic condition at the centerporton' of. the top of the ingotby continued feeding of metal and displacement of the plastic oyflgid metal from'theinterior of the ingot.

9. A method Qo-f 'makmg lingots,"comprise" ing inserting metal in piece form into the zone of the ingot wherein pipes occur while the center portion .ofthe top surface, Q

is still in a fluid or plastic condition, and

the'center of the top ofthe ingot by the application ofheatl v In witness whereof, I have hereuntosi ed my name in the presence of; two-subsori ing witnesses.

.- ,JAMES YE. YORK.

" -Witnesses:

"G s'rAvn R. THOMPSON,

CHAS. LYON RUssELL.

maintaining a fluid or plastic condition at r 

